What would you do with a brain if you had one?  — The Wizard of Oz

This delves into Kentucky politics a bit, but bear with me.  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is being challenged in the Republican primary by Matt Bevin.  Mr. Bevin leans toward the conservative, Tea Party branch of the GOP, while Senator McConnell is more of an establishment Republican.  OK, he’s the poster child for the establishment wing of the party, and his continued willingness to compromise principle in order to get… something out of the Obama administration is one of the reasons I’m supporting Mr. Bevin in the primary.  Heck, being able to vote against McConnell was the sole reason I re-registered as a Republican after deciding to go Independent after the 2012 election.

As much as I dislike Mr. McConnell, I like Mr. Bevin’s positions on a lot of issues more.  He espouses the smaller government, individual liberty, pro-gun opinions that I value.  He’s run a business, even if he had to work with the government to keep it open after it was destroyed by fire.  I don’t agree with him on a few things, but I’m not looking for purity, just competency and principles.  I will probably vote for Bevin in the primary, as opposed to voting against McConnell.  He just seems to be smart and competent.

Then I read this.

Some things are just toxic, and shouldn’t be touched.  Some people and some issues don’t deserve our attention, no matter how much they couch their argument in our favorite language.  Would Bevin speak at a NAMBLA rally if the organizers were pushing to get rid of federal child porn laws?  I would certainly hope not, and he shouldn’t have appeared at this rally.

Either he and his campaign knew about the content of this gathering and didn’t care, or they didn’t bother to do their homework about it in the first place.  Either way, it’s unacceptable.  Bevin has a slim chance of victory in May, and this doesn’t help.

Bevin needs to get in front of this, admit the cock-up, and move on.

Not to pick on my own side, let’s talk about Representative Jim Moran, Democrat of Virginia.

Mr. Moran, who has served in Congress since 1991, seems to believe that the $174,000 in salary that members of Congress receive every year just isn’t enough.   It’s just not enough to keep a roof over their heads and bread in their mouths, you see.

Let’s not consider how many people go into Congress merely rich, but come out of it filthy rich.  Let’s forget about how insider trading laws don’t apply to members of Congress. Let’s concentrate on how the Senators and Representatives make a habit out of having two residences, one in Washington and one back home.  Let’s concentrate on how unfair it is to expect someone who volunteered for their position, campaigned long and hard to get it, and who tends to stay in it for as long as they choose to keep it is making almost three times the median income for their work area.  Let’s concentrate on a debate on term limits.

Moran is out of touch.   I hope that his constituents are paying attention, and that they replace him this fall.  Heck, I don’t care if another Democrat gets elected in November, just not this particular Moran.

Politics is starting to become one of those subjects that I don’t consider unless I’ve been drinking, and it’s stories like these that explains this new attitude.